Page 61 of Tops
“Big Halloween party tonight?” I asked, some part of my mind calculating that it was already Saturday. Pulling the blankets tighter around me, self-conscious about flirting when I knew I looked nothing short of appalling. I got a whiff of myself as I moved. A shower was in order as soon as Nik left.
“Here in Tops.” Nik kept the same wide smile on his face, and I felt I would not like what he was about to suggest.
“I don’t want to go to a Halloween party in a strip club,” I sighed. Hoping that I wouldn’t have to argue with him too much before he understood that it was something I wasn’t interested in.
“Hannah’s going to be there,” Nik added, and I shot him a glare. I swore his smile grew even wider.
Fuck.
“I don’t have a costume,” I said quickly, knowing that my fate was already sealed.
“I was thinking,” Nik started, taking a step toward the bed.
“Wait,” I said, panicked that he would get too close and smell me. “You pick. Nothing sexy or skimpy, and you can’t spend any money. Look through my closet and use stuff lying around, but come up with something while I take a shower and get cleaned up for the day. I’ll wear what you pick, but know that I’m trusting you here, Nik.”
“You may regret this, but I love it. I’ll be right back,” he said with genuine excitement before heading for the door.
“No money,” I yelled after him.
“This is actually perfect,” I said in partial shock at the costume Nik managed to put together while I cleaned up. He used a pair of black leggings from my dresser and a black tank top. A bulletproof police vest sat next to a pile of empty holsters. A third pile contained a skimpy black thong and matching bra.
“Are these necessary for the costume?” I held up the underwear by one of the threads intended to go around my waist. It was thinner than a spaghetti noodle.
“You could always choose to exclude underwear from the costume. I don’t think it would take away from the aesthetic.” Nik teased. I noticed he was wearing a soft purple dress shirt under the white lab coat. The sleeves were rolled up on his forearms. He looked good in the pastel tone.
Things between Nik and I slipped back into place, but the looming storm of Tanner still hung above my head.
“I guess if you play your cards right tonight, you may get to find out what I pick,” I teased, grabbing the makeshift costume and heading into the bathroom to change.
Nik helped slip the vest over my head, tightening the straps until my torso felt like a tank. One of my shirts wouldn’t look so baggy now. But I had no intention of covering the armor plating or the large white letters across the back that spelled out police. I brushed my hair before pulling it into a high ponytail, securing it twice. Turning to seek Nik’s approval, I noticed him sitting on my bed with a belt between his hands.
“These can get a little tricky to put on as well.” His eyes glanced back down to the strap.
I sauntered over to him, feeling somehow shielded inside this vest. Still wouldn’t stop a bullet from going through my head, but it was a protective hug. When I stepped inside the narrow space between his thighs, he gave me a tempting, charming smile.
His arms circled my waist as he smoothed the belt from the small of my back, around my hips, and into the small pocket of space, we once again found separating us. His path took him across several healing bruises underneath my clothes, but his touch didn’t hurt. I watched his hands as he secured the belt, adjusting it to rest on my hips comfortably before he started clipping on empty holsters.
“There,” he said as both hands came up to grab their own ass cheek like a one-year-old with their first slice of cake.
I squeaked out a pathetic sound of surprise before surging forward, pressing Nik flat on his back underneath the inches of protective covering between us. His hands were firmly on my ass, and his smile was light and carefree as he looked up at me.
I wanted to kiss him.
But the vest came out too far to let me get my head close enough unless I scrambled around trying to find the right angle. Mentally, I considered doing just that.
“Come on, Nessa, we don’t want to be late,” Nik said, defusing the moment by removing his hands and helping push me back onto my feet.
My head spun while I wondered what I had done wrong. “What time does it start?” I asked, not capable of asking him my real question.
“Oh, it started at eight, about two hours ago,” Nik said with a smirk as he pushed himself off my mattress.
“PM?” I asked, looking around for my phone. There was no way it was that late already, but it was impossible to tell how much time was passing when there were no windows.
Nik raised his eyebrows as a response.
“Alright. Let’s go,” I said after the silence continued for too long. We were just standing in the middle of my room, not to mention the fact that I really needed to get out more.
“Vanessa.” Nik finally spoke, and my heart plummeted. After the change in atmosphere on the bed, I knew what was coming. They had decided to focus only on being my protectors, the sexual clause torn up and then burned.
